A week ago, Sporting News college football writers Steve Greenberg and Matt Hayes said this week would turn the poll upside down and we saw just that Saturday.

South Carolina thumped Georgia in a top-10 showdown. Florida shut down LSU in another top-10 matchup. Geno Smith did it again as West Virginia knocked off Texas and Oregon, Kansas State and Notre Dame all had impressive wins.

It means everyone is still chasing Alabama, which was off this week, but it’s time to start thinking about which teams—or team—will be the stiffest test for the defending champion Crimson Tide.

Here’s how our experts see this week’s poll.

STEVE GREENBERG’S ANALYSIS AND TOP 25 RANKINGS

It only seems like no one in the Top 25 won on Saturday. The facts are grisly enough: Nine losers from that group—including Nos. 3 (Florida State), 4 (LSU) and 5 (Georgia). Not bad, eh?

This is the sort of grotesque mess that makes college football so very beautiful. Alabama, which had a bye, remains an ironclad No. 1, and Oregon likewise is locked into the BCS title game as long as it doesn’t lose a game. Which is—for every team, the Tide and the Ducks included, a mighty tall order.

1. Alabama

2. Oregon

3. South Carolina

4. Kansas State

5. Florida

6. Notre Dame

7. West Virginia

8. Ohio State

9. LSU

10. Texas

11. Oklahoma

12. Stanford

13. Southern Cal

14. Georgia

15. Mississippi State

16. Florida State

17. Oregon State

18. Texas A&M

19. Clemson

20. Cincinnati

21. Louisville

22. Rutgers

23. Boise State

24. Louisiana Tech

25. Ohio

MATT HAYES’ ANALYSIS AND TOP 25 RANKINGS

Yep, that’s Notre Dame in the top five. We haven’t seen that since Tyrone Willingham’s first team in South Bend in 2002 won its first eight games—and lost three of five to finish the season.

Understand this: If the Irish win out, they will be playing in the BCS National Championship Game. Wins over Stanford and at Oklahoma and Southern Cal (if all continue to play well) will be enough to vault them into one of the top two spots.

We’re a long way from that reality, but who would’ve guessed Notre Dame would be unbeaten at this point in the season?